Loving Mr. July (14 page)

The emcee paused as laughter came from the
audience.

He looked directly at Kurt and Cynthia’s
table. “I got conned by Cynthia into doing her first ‘Hunk of the
Month’ calendar seven years ago. I know, it’s hard to believe…”

The man stepped away from the podium to pat
his rather large pot belly to more laughter. “But I have Cynthia to
thank for my wife, Alisa, who bought my fantasy weekend at that
first auction, and we’ve been together ever since. So all you
bachelors of this year’s calendar, be forewarned, you may not be in
the same boat next year.”

Kurt found Cynthia’s hand under the
tablecloth and squeezed it, giving her a smile when she looked at
him in surprise.

“But in all seriousness,” the emcee
continued, “Cynthia has been a major force behind fundraising for
the Bocher Foundation, and many children have benefited.
Cynthia?”

Kurt gave her hand another squeeze, and she
got up, making her way to the podium.

Cynthia waited for the applause to die down
before she began her speech, speaking in such a natural manner,
Kurt couldn’t have guessed she had been so nervous.

“I’d like to thank all of you here tonight.
It’s folks like you, who have contributed in many ways, large and
small, that allow this foundation to continue its great work.” She
called attention to a number of long-time donors and volunteers,
having each one stand to be recognized. After the last person sat
down, she continued, “I was asked to tell you about the children
the Foundation benefits, but first, I want to tell you another
story.”

Kurt saw Cynthia take a steadying breath. Her
speech became a bit strained.

“Years ago, I was the type of child that the
Bocher Foundation helps. In my case, I was abused by a family
member, and it went on for years before a kind teacher guessed and
found help for me.”

Kurt heard stunned murmurs travel about the
crowd before it became completely silent.

“I know first hand how devastating abuse can
be, and the repercussions it can have even years later. Before
tonight, very few people knew why I volunteered her, or why I felt
what the organization does is so important. And the main reason for
that? Shame.”

Cynthia paused to wipe a tear from her
face.

And it was at that moment that Kurt knew,
without a doubt, that he was completely in love with her. He felt a
fierce protectiveness that made him want to have her never feel
hurt again.

“But,” Cynthia said, “through years of
therapy and a few good friends, I’ve come to realize that while
what happened to me was terrible, it didn’t need to define who I
am.”

Kurt sat back, stunned to realize that he had
been one of the few to know her story. The thought gave him sudden
hope. He didn’t even try to blink back the rare tears that came to
his eyes.

Cynthia continued her speech with a few
examples of children recently helped, before concluding.

“And this is what the Foundation has done and
will continue to do for hundreds of children, many of them who will
forever stay nameless, but whose lives are forever changed for the
better, thanks to people like you.”

Kurt felt his chest swell with emotion as he
joined the crowd in giving Cynthia a thunderous standing
ovation.

When Cynthia returned to their table, her
face looking relieved, he gathered her close in a tight hug,
whispering in her ear, “I’m so, so proud of you.”

Cynthia snuggled into the comfortable seats
of Kurt’s car. Even though she felt tired and more than a little
drained from her emotional speech, she couldn’t say no when he’d
asked her to if she was up for a surprise.

She snuck a peek at him under her lashes. He
drove the car with relaxed competence, one large hand holding the
wheel, the other resting on the stick shift, where he tapped his
fingers along with the tune of the Adele ballad coming out of the
car’s stereo speakers. He had a slight smile on his face, making
her wonder what he was thinking.

She thought back to his reaction to her
speech. Had that really been tears she’d seen on his face? It made
her wonder.

Kurt pulled into his garage and turned to
her. “Would you mind waiting her for just a second?”

Cynthia shook her head.

Kurt disappeared into the house. She heard
Lucky’s excited barking, and then silence. After a few moments, he
returned to the car, came around to her side and opened the door
with a flourish. “I’ve got a surprise for you, but you have to shut
your eyes. No peeking!”

Bemused, Cynthia let Kurt lead her into the
house. She heard a door shut, then felt the floor rising. “You have
an elevator? All this time, you’ve had me going up and down the
stairs and you have an elevator?”

“You did make me eat nasty food for more than
two weeks.”

She harrumphed.

Kurt chuckled. He tilted her chin up and
kissed her lightly on the mouth. “I rarely use this thing. It’s
really only for hauling furniture to the upper floors. I just
didn’t want you to trip trying to walk up the stairs without
looking.”

Cynthia opened her eyes to stare at Kurt.

“Uh, uh.” He gently brushed her eyelids shut.
“No peeking.”

She heard the doors to the elevator open. He
took her hand, and led her into the house. When she heard door
slide in tracks, she knew they were going out to the living room
balcony. A few moments later, the sound of the surf grew louder,
confirming her suspicion.

“You can open your eyes now.” Kurt squeezed
her hand.

Cynthia slowly opened her eyes. She took in
the sight and blinked. She felt like she was in one of her
dreams.

On the round teak table that usually held a
variety of shells and driftwood, and more than one of Lucky’s toys,
candlelight glowed from two tapers in hurricane glasses. A low
glass vase of pink peonies added a touch of elegance without
obstructing the view of the moonlight glinting over the ocean. An
open bottle of pinot noir Cynthia recognized as a California
Russian River Valley wine she’d lusted over sat on the table
between two wine glasses. A small plate of cheese and crackers
graced each place setting.

“You’ve talked about wanting to have a glass
of wine on the balcony just about every time I made you workout,”
Kurt said.

Cynthia turned so she could look at him. He
stood waiting for her response, an uncertain smile on his face. Her
heart leapt.

“Yes.” Cynthia stepped forward to wrap her
arms around him. She felt his strong arms envelope her, and after a
moment, she his lips nuzzle the top of her head.

“Yes?”

“Yes, to the wine,” Cynthia murmured into his
chest. And yes I’m in love with you, she thought to herself. Yes,
I’m ready to risk my heart with you. But she couldn’t bring herself
to say more. This time, she would communicate with actions.

He gave her another quick squeeze, gently set
her aside, and poured some wine into each glass. Handing one to
her, he raised his own. “To your courage and to new
beginnings.”

Cynthia clinked glasses with him and took a
sip. After a moment, she linked her fingers into his and drew him
closer. She drew a steadying breath, looked him in the eyes and
said, “I only had courage because of you, you know.”

Kurt unlinked their fingers and brought his
hand to her face, gently stroking her chin. From the questioning
look on his face, he clearly wanted her to explain.

“When you listened the other night, you
didn’t judge. You didn’t give me pity. You didn’t act
disgusted.”

“It wasn’t your fault.” Kurt tilted her chin
up so that he could look directly into her eyes.

“Which I’ve heard many times before, from
therapists, girlfriends, family members. But even when I told you
I’d been sort of promiscuous, you didn’t recoil.”

“We’ve all been idiots at one time or
another,” Kurt told her, running a finger over her cheek in a light
caress. “As long as there were no lasting repercussions?”

Cynthia shook her head, realizing his
question. “Nope, I got tested. And I was lucky.”

“You don’t want to know about some of the
stupid stuff I’ve done. Not exactly like I’ve been an alter boy
either. And I also got tested and am clean.” Kurt reassured her,
then shrugged. “You live and learn. If you don’t, well that’s
another story, but sounds like you learned.”

Cynthia melted at the look in his eyes. He
truly meant what he said. “Not every guy would act that way.”

“How many guys have you told your story to?”
Kurt dropped a light kiss on her forehead.

Cynthia hesitated a moment. She drew in a
breath, buoyed by the look in his eyes. “Up until tonight?
One.”

It took a moment for the words to sink in.
Cynthia saw the moment that Kurt registered what she meant. His
eyes took on a tender look. “Aw Cyn.” He looked into her eyes for a
moment. “I’m honored,” he told her softly. He kissed her on both
cheeks.

Cynthia read the question in his eyes when he
drew his head. She answered it by drawing his head down to hers,
brushing her lips against his. Then all thought went out of her
head.

His lips soft, he slanted his mouth over
hers. The kiss first gentle, intensified with each tentative
response from her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, leaned
into his body, reveling in the feeling of being encompassed by hard
strength. She felt safe, not over powered.

Kurt drew back, took a breath. “Cyn, love,
you know where this is going, don’t you?”

Cynthia drew in her breath and nodded into
his chest.

He tilted her head up so he could look into
her eyes. “If you want me to stop, I will. I want you to feel in
charge.”

Cynthia couldn’t speak. Tears came into her
eyes, but as they were tears of joy, she didn’t want Kurt to see.
She answered him by drawing his head back down, cupping his face
between her hands and bringing her lips to his, brushing against
them softly.

“Don’t.” She brushed his lips again.
“Stop.”

Kurt enveloped her in a big hug, drawing in a
ragged breath. “I’ve wanted you for so long.”

“You have?” Cynthia mumbled into his
chest.

“God woman, how could you not know that?” He
set her back from him for a moment. “I’ve touched you every chance
I could. I’ve walked around practically naked trying to see if you
had any interest whatsoever. Zip. Zero. Nada. Do you know what
you’ve done to my ego?”

“Poor baby,” Cynthia said, her heart singing.
She slipped off his jacket.

“Why.” Cynthia started unbuttoning his
shirt.

“Didn’t.” She kissed one side of his
chest.

“You.” She kissed the other side, running her
hands over the hard planes.

“Just.” She pulled the shirt out of his
pants.

“Kiss.” The shirt followed the jacket to the
deck floor.

“Me?”

Kurt, his eyes dark with desire, grabbed both
of her hands, and pulled them to his neck. He ran his hands down
her sides, brushing against her breasts.

“Cyn,” he said, his voice rough with emotion.
“You’re driving me crazy.”

At her muffled giggle, he told her. “And
enjoying it a little too much, I’d say.”

Without warning, Kurt bent and scooped her
up, and carried her into the house and down the hallway to his
room, laying her gently on his bed. Moonlight from the bare windows
streamed across the room, illuminating the room.

When Kurt bent over her, his beautiful,
sculpted body clearly revealed in the soft light, Cynthia felt as
if she were in a dream.

He gazed at her for a moment, brushing the
bangs away from her eyes. With one finger, he skimmed her lips, and
then brushed the sides of her cheek with the back of his fingers.
One thumb still caressing her cheek, he bent down and laid his lips
across hers, tasting, savoring.

Cynthia responded to the reverence in his
touch by bringing her hands up around his neck, drawing him
closer.

With his hands on either side of her head to
prop himself up, he deepened the kiss, lips soft, tongue gently
tangling with hers.

Cynthia soon realized that while he led the
lovemaking, he deliberately allowed her to set the pace. She felt
his care radiating through the restraint he showed her, even as she
felt his need pressing up against her thigh.

Gratitude mixed with love came though in her
response to his soft caresses. She intensified their kiss, ran her
hands up and down the hard planes of his chest and back, and
slipped them under his pants.

He lifted his head from her lips, and rained
kisses across her neck, brushing the tops of her breasts. He began
a slow unbuttoning of her silk blouse, stopping after each button
to kiss the skin underneath, and widening his caress to graze the
tips of his fingers across her aching breasts.

By the time his fingers reached her second
breast, Cynthia’s desire was too intense to wait any longer. She
turned her body so that his kiss landed squarely on the thin lace
covering her breast, then moaned when he took its peak into her
mouth, loving, and sucking.

Kurt moved faster on the remaining buttons,
helping her remove the blouse.

She unclasped her bra and slipped it off,
reveling in the appreciative look on Kurt’s face. While he wanted
to linger, her desire was now too intense, and when she moved to
help him unzip his pants, he laughed, shifted her fumbling hands
away and shrugged out of the clothing on his own, revealing the
strong evidence of his desire.

Looking at the play of hard muscles in Kurt’s
beautiful body made Cynthia shy for a moment, realizing that her
body was still softer and larger than it should be. Probably bigger
than any woman Kurt had been with.

But when her hands stilled on her skirt, and
she turned her head away, Kurt brought his hands back to her face,
turned her to face him, and kissed her fully on the mouth.